Italy that speaks German first. South Tyrol was Austrian until 1919 and remains autonomous, trilingual and unmistakably alpine — Speck and Knödel alongside espresso, onion-domed churches above vineyards. Bolzano keeps Ötzi, the 5,300-year-old iceman, in a museum built for him. Around it are the Dolomites of Alta Badia, Val Gardena and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo; the Alpe di Siusi, Europe's largest high alpine meadow; and, improbably, some of Italy's best white wine on the terraces of the Adige valley.
- Tre Cime di Lavaredo
- Alpe di Siusi and the Sciliar
- Alta Badia and Val Gardena
- Lago di Braies
- Bolzano and the Ötzi museum
- Merano and Trauttmansdorff gardens
- Best time to go
- Late June–September for hiking and the refuges; December–March for skiing (Dolomiti Superski). The shoulder weeks either side are wet and half-shut.
- Getting there
- Verona, Innsbruck and Venice airports. The Brenner railway runs Munich–Verona through Bolzano; a car is close to essential for the side valleys.
© OpenFreeMap · OSM · terrain Mapterhorn · boundaries © EuroGeographics (Eurostat GISCO)
Headline places
What italia.it leads with in South Tyrol.
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Tre Cime di Lavaredo Three vertical towers of pale dolomite — the emblem of the range -
Alpe di Siusi Europe's largest high alpine meadow, under the Sciliar -
Lago di Braies Emerald water under the Croda del Becco, with wooden rowing boats -
Alta Badia Ladin valleys, the Sellaronda ski circuit and Michelin stars at altitude -
Ötzi — South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology The 5,300-year-old iceman, kept at -6°C in the middle of Bolzano -
Trauttmansdorff Castle Gardens Eighty garden landscapes on a hillside above Merano -
Passo dello Stelvio Forty-eight hairpins to 2,758 m — the highest paved pass in the eastern Alps
Cities & bases
Where to sleep, and what each place is good for.
South Tyrol by experience
The themes this region delivers on.
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Art & culture More UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country on earth -
Food & wine Regional to the point of parochial — and all the better for it -
Italian lakes Como, Garda, Maggiore — the Grand Tour's original destination - Mountains & the Dolomites The Dolomites, the western Alps and the wild Apennines
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UNESCO Italy Sixty World Heritage sites — the largest tally of any country -
Nature & national parks 25 national parks, from alpine glaciers to volcanic islands -
Thermal baths & wellness Volcanic Italy's other output — hot water, since the Romans - Sport & the outdoors Dolomiti Superski, the Giro's climbs and Garda's windsurfing
More of The North
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Aosta Valley Italy's smallest region, under the four highest mountains in the Alps -
Piedmont Barolo, white truffles, royal Turin and the Alps at the foot of the plain -
Liguria The Italian Riviera — Cinque Terre, Portofino and pesto's home port -
Lombardy Milan, the great lakes and the Alps of Valtellina -
Trentino Dolomite valleys, Lake Garda's northern tip and Italy's alpine lakes -
Veneto Venice, Verona, Palladio's villas and the Dolomites of Cortina -
Friuli Venezia Giulia Habsburg Trieste, Roman Aquileia and Italy's finest white wines -
Emilia-Romagna Parmigiano, prosciutto, Ferrari and Ravenna's mosaics